In the wake of the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, the regime appears to be turning inward — escalating repression with chilling speed. 

According to Kasra Aarabi, director of IRGC research at United Against Nuclear Iran, the Islamic Republic is accelerating toward what he said is a ‘North Korea-style model of isolation and control.’

‘We’re witnessing a kind of domestic isolation that will have major consequences for the Iranian people,’ Aarabi told Fox News Digital. ‘The regime has always been totalitarian, but the level of suppression now is unprecedented. It’s unlike anything we’ve seen before.’

A source inside Iran confirmed to Fox News Digital that ‘the repression has become terrifying.’

Aarabi, who maintains direct lines of contact in Iran, described a country under siege by its own rulers. In Tehran, he described how citizens are stopped at random, their phones confiscated and searched. ‘If you have content deemed pro-Israel or mocking the regime, you disappear,’ he said. ‘People are now leaving their phones at home or deleting everything before they step outside.’

This new wave of paranoia and fear, he explained, mirrors tactics seen in North Korea — where citizens vanish without explanation and information is tightly controlled. During the recent conflict, Iran’s leadership imposed a total internet blackout to isolate the population, blocking Israeli evacuation alerts, and pushed propaganda that framed Israel as targeting civilians indiscriminately.

‘It was a perverse objective,’ Aarabi said, adding, ‘They deliberately cut communications to instill fear and manipulate public perception. For four days, not a single message went through. Even Israeli evacuation alerts didn’t reach their targets.’

The regime’s aim, he said, was twofold: to keep people off the streets and erode the surprising bond that had formed between Iranians and Israelis. ‘At the start of the war, many Iranians welcomed the strikes,’ Aarabi noted. ‘They knew Israel was targeting the IRGC — the very forces responsible for suppressing and killing their own people. But once the internet was cut and fear set in, some began to question what was happening.’

Dr. Afshon Ostovar, a leading Iran scholar and author of ‘Vanguard of the Imam: Religion, Politics, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards,’ said domestic repression remains the regime’s most reliable strategy for survival. 

‘Repressing the people at home is easy. That’s something they can do. So it’s not unlikely that Iran could become more insular, more autocratic, more repressive — and more similar to, let’s say, a North Korea — than what it is today. That might be the only way they see to preserve the regime: by really tightening the screws on the Iranian people, to ensure that the Iranian population doesn’t try to rise up and topple the regime,’ he told Fox News Digital.

Inside the regime’s power structure, the fallout from the war is just as severe. Aarabi said that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is facing an internal crisis of trust and an imminent purge. ‘These operations couldn’t have taken place without infiltration at the highest levels,’ he said. ‘There’s immense pressure now to clean house.’

The next generation of IRGC officers — those who joined after 2000 — are younger, more radical and deeply indoctrinated. Over half of their training is now ideological. Aarabi said that these newer factions have begun turning on senior commanders, accusing them of being too soft on Israel or even collaborating with Mossad.

‘In a twist of irony, Khamenei created these extreme ideological ranks to consolidate power — and now they’re more radical than he is,’ Aarabi said. ‘He’s struggling to control them.’

A purge is likely, along with the rise of younger, less experienced commanders with far higher risk tolerance — a shift that could make the IRGC more volatile both domestically and internationally. With Iran’s conventional military doctrine in ruins, terrorism may become its primary lever of influence.

‘The regime’s three pillars — militias, ballistic missiles, and its nuclear program — have all been decapitated or severely degraded,’ Aarabi said. ‘That leaves only asymmetric warfare: soft-target terrorism with plausible deniability.’

Despite the regime’s brutal turn inward, Aarabi insists this is a sign of weakness, not strength. ‘If the Islamic Republic were confident, it wouldn’t need to crush its people this way,’ he said. ‘It’s acting out of fear. But until the regime’s suppressive apparatus is dismantled, the streets will remain silent — and regime change remains unlikely.’

The first time I remember celebrating the Fourth of July was during the American bicentennial in 1976. As children living in New York City, my parents woke my sisters and I up early to see the Parade of Tall Ships as it entered the Hudson River. Even as a kid, this magnificent display conveyed to me a sense of the grand power of the U.S. The extraordinary event also offered me another feeling: that America, my home country, would do anything and everything in its power to keep me, my family, and indeed, all of its citizens, safe.

This Fourth of July, Americans will find themselves in two very different realities. Most will be surrounded by family and friends, enjoying baseball, hot dogs and ice cream cones. But for my American family, as well as dozens of other families of hostages, this day will be a stark contrast. On this day that celebrates freedom, my son Itay will spend the Fourth of July like he has the last 637 days – likely alone, in the cold, dark tunnels of Hamas in Gaza. He and 49 other hostages remain stripped of their freedom, while their families are in limbo, not able to embrace the holiday of independence. We need to remember, especially on this day, that Hamas is still holding Americans hostage, and 50 hostages in total.

On this day, we must look past the haze of fireworks and remember that the Fourth of July is about something more. It’s about celebrating our hard-fought, long-defended freedom and knowing that an attack on the freedom of any American – and taking them hostage – is an attack on the freedom of us all. Taking U.S. citizens as hostages should be a liability, not an asset, with severe consequences attached. So long as Hamas holds U.S. citizens, we are letting evil and terrorism win.

My son was 19 when he was taken hostage. On this Independence Day, he can no longer watch the Mets games with his brothers, something he loved and cherished. He can no longer try to strike me out in the neighborhood pickup game, or check in every five minutes at the grill asking when the food will be ready. On this Independence Day, his lack of freedom rings loudly.

This Fourth of July, my family and I will wake up again to the same nightmare we do every day, where every moment begs the same agonizing question: Where is my son, and what can we do to get him back?

Right now, all of our energy is focused on one thing. As every parent knows, when your child disappears from your sight – even for a few moments at a playground or store – panic sets in instantly. But when your child is kidnapped, especially by terrorists, the only thing you can think about is getting them back, whatever their condition. Until we can embrace Itay again, we cannot even begin to process what lies ahead or plan for the future. It’s impossible to move forward when this remains an open wound.

After the historic wins over Iran, Hezbollah, and yes, Hamas, now is the time for us to pause and adopt President Donald Trump’s policy of ‘Peace Through Strength.’ It is time for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to collaborate with the U.S. and bring the hostages back. The U.S. was successful last month in bringing New Jersey native Edan Alexander back home, independent of Israel, but it needs Israel to bring the remaining others out.

No fan of half-measures, President Trump is in a prime position to pull off the ‘Big Beautiful Deal,’ a comprehensive diplomatic initiative which would end hostilities in both Iran and Gaza, secure the release of all 50 remaining hostages in Gaza – including my son – and help stabilize the entire Middle East through a carefully negotiated framework.

President Trump is uniquely positioned to drive such an initiative forward. During his previous presidency, he successfully brokered the Abraham Accords, achieving what many had previously considered near impossible normalization between Israel and several Arab nations. The Big Beautiful Deal would be a direct extension of this diplomatic milestone, offering a more comprehensive and regional approach to peacemaking. The president’s unorthodox style has demonstrated that breakthroughs are possible even in the most entrenched conflicts.

America defined the values of freedom and human dignity that we celebrate on the Fourth of July. They didn’t come easily – we had to fight for them, good versus evil – and our continued defense of democracy is an essential part of the American identity.

In the last few months, my family has met Vice President JD Vance, FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi and others who promise us that President Trump’s policy of ‘America First’ is not hollow words and ‘America First’ prioritizes the release of American hostages and those unlawfully detained all around the world, including Gaza. 

To date, the Trump administration has been able to release 47 such Americans, and we pray Itay will be one of them as well soon. This Fourth of July, keep in mind that there was an attack on our freedom on Oct. 7, and fellow Americans remain in captivity. I call on President Trump: Do everything in your power to quash terrorism, and ensure that freedom wins the day with the release of the hostages.

Speaking to a crowd of supporters in Iowa on Thursday night, President Donald Trump announced that the military flight team that launched the strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities will be honored at the White House on Independence Day.

Trump said that he took issue with early media reports suggesting that the strikes on Iran only partially damaged the targets because he considered it an insult to the ‘great’ American military members who executed the mission.

Remember when CNN said it wasn’t obliterated? It was maybe damaged or damaged badly, but obliterated is too strong a word. No, it was obliterated. That’s now been proven,’ said Trump.

They were trying to demean me by saying that, but they were really demeaning those great pilots and people and mechanics that got those planes over there and were able to shoot from high up in the air, going very, very fast, with potentially a lot of things being shot at them, and hit every single one,’ he said. ‘They’re trying to demean me, but to me, they were demeaning them. And they got out of the plane, and they said, ‘What? We hit every single target.’ They know better than anybody.’

These people did one of the greatest military hits and maneuvers in the history of our country, and I want them to be appreciated for it,’ the president went on. ‘So, they’re coming. They’re coming to the White House tomorrow night.’

They’re going to be in Washington tomorrow at the White House, and we’re going to be celebrating.’

Trump said the White House will host not only the pilots, but the entire flight crew, including ‘the people that flew the other planes’ and ‘the mechanics that had these planes going for 37 hours without a stop.’

China, Russia, they were all watching. Everybody was watching,’ he said. ‘We have the greatest equipment anywhere in the world. We have the greatest people anywhere in the world, and we have the strongest military anywhere in the world.’

During his address on Thursday, Trump also claimed that Iran called ahead of their retaliatory strike on the U.S. military base in Qatar to clear the attack with the White House.

They called me to tell me they have to take a shot at us. This was Iran. Very respectful. That means they respect us because we dropped 14 bombs. They said we’d like to take 14 shots at you. I said, ‘Go ahead, I understand,’’ he said.

‘They said where they would do it. I said, ‘Good.’ We emptied out the fort. It was a beautiful military base in Qatar who treated us really fantastically well,’ he said.

Trump claimed that Iran went so far as to ask what time of day would be acceptable for their retaliatory strike.

‘They said, ‘Sir, is 1:00 okay?’ I said it was fine, [they said], ‘We could make it later.’ And we had nobody but four gunners,’ he said. So, all of a sudden, they said, ‘We’re ready.’ And they were a little nervous about doing it. I want to tell, you can you imagine, they were nice enough – this is Iran – to call me and tell me that they would like to shoot me at 14 times, so they want to shoot us. And I said, go ahead. And they shot 14 high grade, very fast missiles every single one of them was shot down routinely by these four unbelievable gunmen. And they did their job. And that was the end of that.’

North Korean officials accused the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) of running ‘an absurd smear campaign’ after announcing that it had unraveled several schemes by the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea (DPRK) to fund the regime through remote information technology work for U.S. companies.

Earlier this week, the DOJ said North Korean actors were helped by individuals in the U.S., China, the United Emirates and Taiwan to obtain employment with over 100 U.S. companies, including Fortune 500 companies.

The scheme allegedly involved the workers getting laptops from the companies that hired them and allowing remote North Korean IT workers to remotely access the computers. In another scheme, North Korean IT workers used false identities to gain employment with a blockchain research and development company in Atlanta, Georgia, and steal over $900,000 in virtual currency.

As part of its announcement about the North Korean scheme, the DOJ unsealed a five-count indictment against Zhenxing Wang, a U.S. national living in New Jersey, who has since been arrested.

Wang and his co-conspirators, the DOJ said, obtained remote IT work with U.S. companies and generated over $5 million in revenue.

Also charged in the indictment are Chinese nationals Jing Bin Huang, Baoyu Zhou, Tong Yuze, Yongzhe Xu, Ziyou Yuan and Zhenbang Zhou. Taiwanese nationals Mengting Liu and Enchia Liu were also charged in the indictment.

Also indicted was U.S. national Kejia ‘Tony’ Wang, also of New Jersey, who was charged separately.

North Korean news agency KCNA reported that a spokesperson for the DPRK Foreign Ministry lambasted the U.S. judicial system for its actions against DPRK citizens on the suspicion of a cybercrime.

‘The recent incident is an absurd smear campaign and grave violation of sovereignty aimed at tarnishing the image of our state as it is a continuation of the hostile move of the successive U.S. administrations that have talked much about the non-existent ‘cyber threat’ from the DPRK,’ the spokesperson reportedly said. ‘The Foreign Ministry of the DPRK expresses serious concern over the U.S. judicial authorities’ provocation which is threatening and encroaching on the security, rights and interests of our citizens by fabricating the groundless ‘cyber’ drama, and strongly denounces and rejects it.’

The spokesperson accused the U.S. of creating ‘international cyberspace instability,’ and not the DPRK.

‘The U.S. has long been posing a constant threat to the cybersecurity of the DPRK and other sovereign states by making cyber space a scene of battle and abusing the cyber issue as a political weapon to tarnish the image of other countries and impair the exercise of their legitimate rights,’ the spokesperson said. 

‘The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has the right to take a proper and proportionate countermeasure to thoroughly protect the security and rights of its citizens from the judicial enforcement for a sinister political purpose, and to call to strict legal account the outsiders who took malicious action,’ the spokesperson concluded.

The DOJ said the indictment alleges that from 2021 and through most of 2024, the defendants and other co-conspirators compromised the identities of over 80 people in the U.S. to obtain remote jobs at more than 100 companies. As a result, the victim companies incurred legal fees, computer network remediation costs and other damages and losses to the tune of at least $3 million.

Kejia and Zhenxing, along with at least four other U.S. facilitators, allegedly helped overseas IT workers with various parts of the scheme.

Kejia and Zhenxing allegedly established shell companies with websites and financial accounts to make it appear as though the overseas IT workers were affiliated with legitimate businesses in the U.S. Once established, the two allegedly received money from U.S. companies, and the funds were transferred to co-conspirators overseas.

In exchange for their services, Kejia, Zhenxing and the other four conspirators in the U.S. received at least $696,000 from the IT workers.

The DOJ said one of the companies the schemers allegedly accessed data from was a defense contractor that develops artificial intelligence-powered equipment and technology. By accessing the company’s data, the schemers were privy to International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), the DOJ said.

The DOJ also announced that the FBI and Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) seized 17 web domains used as part of the scheme, along with 29 financial accounts holding tens of thousands of dollars, used to launder revenue for the North Korean regime.

The DOJ unveiled another part of the scheme, which resulted in a five-count wire fraud and money laundering indictment against four North Korean nationals: Kim Kwang Jin, Kang Tae Bok, Jong Pong Ju and Change Nam II.

The suspects are accused of scheming to steal virtual currency from two companies, with a value of over $900,000 at the time of the thefts, and to launder the proceeds.

All four nationals, the DOJ said, are at large and wanted by the FBI.